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Topic: Celebrity Apprentice 4 (Read 14440 times)

One of the all-time business scum bums, Stephen Hilbert, was featured on this past week's episode as the CEO of Austrailan Gold. If you google him, you'll see lots of shady stuff, including some dealings with Donald Trump and NY's G.M. building years ago.

But my favorite is the story about how he met his wife who was also on the show.

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Stephen C. Hilbert, Conseco's chairman -- who met his sixth and current wife, Tomisue, when she leaped out of a cake at his stepson's 21st birthday party

The task was to, on a cold winter morning, present Australian Gold sunscreen and body lotion products in a meaningful way to highlight the theme “Live the Gold Life.” The executives of Australian Gold, Steve Hilbert, Tommysue Hilbert and Melanie Travis, would be available to answer questions and try out concepts on and they would judge the originality/creativity, brand messaging and brand messaging “outside the box” of ASAP and Backbone presentations. The PMs selected were Mark McGrath and LaToya Jackson.

The men focused on a theme of pirates, which they felt embodied the Australian Gold experience. The women were more diffuse in their concept, but late in the preparation period LaToya decided to throw in a skiing motif to go with their original beach motif. Both teams had to display within a 10 feet cubed “glass box.”

Lil Jon was given two explicit assignments: a minor project and the responsibility to keep Gary from interfering with the work of the others. LaToya assigned Hope, Marlee and NeNe to fetch props, costumes and wardrobe while Star got graphics and La Toya herself had, as NeNe so cattily put it, “nothing.”

Ivanka came visiting during the prep period and asked how their PM was doing, etc. Ne Ne was not shy about knocking LaToya for lack of direction.

Once the displays were open, the focus shifted to Donald Jr. He inspected both teams’ presentations. He believed that the men had superior creativity and good brand integration but they still could lose if they did not hit the “sweet spot” of Australian Gold’s desired focus.

Gary lost points for his manic style with the Australian Gold executives. He had coopted Mark’s role.

The execs went to chat with Donald Trump so he knew who won. Backbone had a fabulous jingle and they had great buzz outside the box, but they failed to incorporate Surfin’ Sydney the koala bear at all and did not do a good job of integrating the “Live the Gold Life” theme. ASAP did do a great job of integrating “Live the Gold Life," with beach, volleyball and skiing motifs. However, they did not position Playmate of the Year Hope well, failing to display some of her assets to attract a crowd.

In the Boardroom, NeNe criticized LaToya’s performance as PM right out of the box. Mark stated that he would take full responsibility for the loss if Backbone lost. Ivanka summarized the pros and cons of each presentation. The last item was the way Gary put them on edge with his monopolization of their time. The execs did not like the pirate theme, so ASAP won.

This put Mark McGrath as the losing PM behind the 8-ball. However, he now had a potential route to staying alive with Gary being an alternate target. Meat Loaf and all the rest of Backbone told Donald Trump that Gary should be the one fired. Meat Loaf stated that Gary was a big-time liability.

Trump let this play out. He then decided to fire Mark McGrath because Mark chose the pirates theme, which was the primary reason for losing the task.

This episode started with LaToya delivering 3 checks totaling $65,000 to the AIDS Project Los Angeles. Trump assembled the teams and teams that they would be doing commercials for Omaha Steaks. Todd and Bruce Simon, the owners of Omaha Steaks, were present to describe the most involved task yet:1. Cook during a 30 minute live kitchen demo 3 different types of Omaha Steak items from a catalog focusing on steaks, seafood, lobster and desserts2. Develop a unique variety pack that would combine 3 separate items

Criteria for success were brand messaging, creativity in the variety pack and overall presentation. The PMs were Gary and Hope, who was being a project manager for the first time. Trump asked her if she eats steak. Her response of “yes” was a lie since she does not eat red meat and does not cook.

Gary used an imperious style. Without consulting Lil John, Jon and Meat Loaf, he named Meat Loaf as chef, the center-point of the Backbone presentation. Rod and Bruce came to visit Backbone, but the time was wasted as Gary frittered it away with irrelevant questions. His teammates felt that Gary was acting in a manner to have their team self-destruct. ASAP was going with a specific concept of what would be cooked, then at the last minute they changed it so that she cooked steak rather than filet mignon. LaToya was upset, not by the actual decision but by its timing. I felt this was A “tempest in a teapot,” not really worth air time (but due to the 2 hour format a lot of marginal things get air time). Gary’s communications style to John was “Shut up, boy, and listen to me, boy.” It’s clear that Gary has been to a very advanced version of “How To Win Friends and Influence People.”

Ivanka came to visit Backbone. Her conclusion about the obvious infighting was “I just walked in on a group therapy session.” She stated out of earshot of Gary that he make decisions firmly and communicate clearly. Donald Jr. dropped in on ASAP but nothing significant happened.

Preparation and the actual event took place at the Institute for Culinary Education in New York City. Meat Loaf, who does not cook in real life, got many tips from the ICE chef assigned to Backbone. He listened well and was later able to project an understanding far beyond his real knowledge. Backbone discovered at the ICE a serious mistake, leaving lobster off the menu, the responsibility of Gary. Also John confronted Gary over his use of the derogatory term “boy” the prior afternoon. He told him to never use it again. Gary apologized and asked if he was forgiven. John said no. ASAP practiced and Hope was worried that LaToya’s tiny voice would not project well

ASAP presented first and Hope emceed both LaToya and Star (who had a good line about how the petite filet mignon at 4 ounces was just right for her after open-heart surgery. Next, Marlee emceed for NeNe. NeNe started a trend of saying just “Omaha” instead of the proper “Omaha Steaks.”

Backbone presented and Gary would turn it over to Meat Loaf for specified cooking demos. Meat Loaf did a fantastic job, but Gary as emcee left a lot to be desired. He rambled on with a kite analogy that few in the audience would understand. The one good thing he did was get an audience chant of “Omaha Steaks” going on cue. It was clear to me that Backbone had lost once again.

Rod and Bruce told Donald Trump that ASAP had done a decent job, with good brand messaging except for the substitution of “Omaha” for “Omaha Steaks” by NeNe and insufficient live cooking. Also, it was not clear what John or Lil Jon had done since they were not involved in the Backbone presentation but Meat Loaf had done a super job of cooking and obviously understood their products and Gary had told stories for too long and bored the live cooking demo audience.

In the Boardroom, Trump went through the usual calibration questions. It came out that Gary was viewed by his team as incompetent at time management.

The moment for the reveal showed that ASAP had won. Hope got $20K for her charity. Backbone got to stay in the Boardroom. Gary called John Rich back in with him, but it was no contest. Gary’s weird ways on Celebrity apprentice are over. Backbone had to breathe a sigh of relief.

This leaves the headcount ASAP 5 Backbone 3. That is too much of a difference, so I predict that Donald Trump will do one of two things:1. Merge the teams (but I think it’s too soon for that)2. Send one woman to Backbone. If he lets the women decide, then it could be LaToya since they consider her their weakest link. If he decides it could be Marlee or Star, the two strongest players for ASAP.

I thought this was a subjective move by Trump because by all accounts the men should have won this time. I found it exceedingly strange that bringing the audience up to sample the food was considered to be a bad move. The men got the audience involved by repeating the phrase "Omaha Steaks" while the women consistently used only "Omaha" in their presentation. We don't know how long Gary blathered on about the kite.)

I also find Nene irritating which is probably her role on the show and blaming LaToya for having a soft voice was asinine. She could and should have been mic'd up so there would not have been a problem with her presentation. I hope Trump does shift the teams around but as you say apskip, it may be too soon.

All that said, Gary Busey was rightly fired and should have been fired several episodes back. We'll never know how the men would have done without him dragging projects down as he did with last weeks episode with Australian Gold. I thought it was wrong when Trump allowed Marlee to persuade him to keep Busey (He was kept for the drama, just like NeNe. IMHO.)

It's clear that Trump has been focusing on the individuals most likely to create conflict and keeping them (NeNe, Gary until the most recent episode) around. I am waiting for the confrontation between Marlee and Star in a future episode. That will be interesting to see.

It's clear that Trump has been focusing on the individuals most likely to create conflict and keeping them (NeNe, Gary until the most recent episode) around. I am waiting for the confrontation between Marlee and Star in a future episode. That will be interesting to see.

Hope is shown presenting the check for her $20K win last episode to her best buddy at “Best Buddies”, an organization for adults similar to Little Brothers or Little Sisters. Donald Trump came to present the task and he introduced it with a question on who would vote for him for President and who wouldn’t. Nobody raised their hand for the latter, to which Trump responded that anyone who had would have been fired immediately!

The task is to develop advertising for the Trump Hotel Collection, specifically a 4 page ad to run in Saveur magazine plus a presentation. Criteria for judging are originality, brand messaging and overall experience. Judging will be COO Jim Petrus and Saveur magazine editor-in-chief James Oseland. The PMs were Star and John Rich. Petrus gave the men a hint that it boiled down to 3 words: Live the Life.

The theme of the Backbone ads was “Live the Life of Donald Trump,” how original. John was very concerned about not having any spelling errors and spent important time correcting errors, but he failed to get them all. Their presentation was a series of stories.

The theme of the ASAP ad was Luxury and Elegant Style. It was composed of many photos (far too many) and their presentation was a cacophonous series of words to demonstrate power, influence and wealth. Star split up the assignments, with LaToya getting “ladies who lunch” and NeNe responsible for a bathtub scene with Hope in it. NeNe and Hope sparred over LaToya having told it like it is to Trump about NeNe. So does NeNe plan to get even? Is the Pope Catholic?

Oseland stated that the ASAP campaign reminded him of sleazy clubs and it appeared to be more of a carwash than an ad campaign. A photo Hope in a bathtub with an unopened bottle of champagne in an icebucket was cited as an example of what was wrong with the ASAP ads . The judges felt it was more of an advertorial than an ad. The Backbone campaign failed to provide contact information, so there was no way for interested parties to follow up with the Trump Collection Hotels. However, Backbone had the better pitch. Which team would win?

In the Boardroom, Donald Trump was playing the members of both teams. He asked Hope how Star performed as PM and Hope said great. He asked NeNe the same question and she said that Marlee was the best. She complained about the phoniness and stated that Marlee and Hope were “crawling up Star’s ass.”

On Backbone, John Rich indicated that Lil Jon had done graphics, meat Loaf had developed stories and he himself did the writing.

Trump admitted what anyone would have known for the entirety of CA4, that he was continuously testing everyone in the Boardroom with his questions. He continued to state that neither team did a good job.

Eric and Donald Jr. took over to summarize all of the faults of both ads and presentations. Donald Trump stated that the Backbone ad seemed to be more about ties than hotels. Then Donald Trump took back control to state that the men had not won but the women had lost. John Rich won $20K for the St. Jude Children’s Hospital and he, Meat Loaf and Lil Jon were excused.

The focus was now on ASAP. Donald Jr. stated that the women’s ad could only take place at the 59th St. Trump Tower Hotel while the men’s ad showed pictures of the Los Angeles and Chicago hotels.

Trump told Star to pick 2 ASAP members to bring back to the Boardroom. She picked LaToya (who she was trying to get rid of) and NeNe (who she thought could have her back). Trump excused Marlee and Hope. LaToya defended herself by stating that Star had actually been the prime force behind 2 ASAP losses when she was the script writer.

Trump stated that his decision was Star vs. Latoya and that LaToya lacked the support of the entire rest of her team. He fired her. This is absurd because if the identical criteria had been applied two episodes prior, Gary Busey would have been fired and Mark McGrath saved. LaToya brands Nene as a manipulative, conniving and evil person, which is about right.

@Apskip: A little correction for the end part of your recap. The one that LaToya branded is Star Jones. She has made up with Nene in this task and Nene was shown to have a hard time in boardroom, trying not to have LaToya saved with no avail.

@Apskip: A little correction for the end part of your recap. The one that LaToya branded is Star Jones. She has made up with Nene in this task and Nene was shown to have a hard time in boardroom, trying not to have LaToya saved with no avail.

I re-watched the episode actually and here's what LaToya said in limo confessional:"It was a wonderful experience. I truly enjoyed working with Mr. Trump. As far as my teammates I concern, that's a totally different story. I think Star Jones is a very manipulative person. I think she's very conniving and very evil. Doesn't matter if she has to lie, she did it......."

It also didn't make sense if Nene's the one that got branded after they had the emotional make up.

As the news of Osama Bin Laden being killed flooded our televisions tonight, most people missed finding out who Donald Trump fired on 'The Celebrity Apprentice.' If you missed it, here is what happened tonight.

The teams had to do a hair show. It was a really weird task for the teams. They had people cutting hair on a stage and it was just all odd to watch. Both teams did a good job, but the women ended up losing the challenge.

On tonight's show, we also saw Nene Leaks and Star Jones feuding. You can read all about it here. We also saw Latoya Jackson return to the show. You can read more on this here.Advertisement

When they went to the board room, the women found out they had lost the task. Donald must like the drama and wanted to keep Star and Nene together another week. Hope Dworaczyk, the Playboy model, ended up hearing the words, "You're fired" from Donald Trump and was sent on her way.

Trump introduced Farouk Shami, head of Farouk Systems, makers and sellers of the professional haircare product lines Biosilk and Chi. Farouk posed the task of preparing and presenting a Hair Show using two professional stylists and four models per team. Ivanka stated that the criteria for judging (to be done by Farouk and an audience of professional hair stylists and educators) on brand messaging and overall presentation. Trump asked for PMs and it is Lil Jon or Meatball, with Lil Jon getting the nod after losing a game of chance. For the women Star nominated NeNe, but this incensed NeNe and we got a lengthy diatribe from NeNe indicating why she, a strident brainless personality is A No-Class Housewife of Atlanta who tries to bludgeon her opponents by over-talking them while Star is cool, composed and above it all. All of that boiled over in front of Donald trump and Farouk Shami. Eric when he visited on an inspection tour commented that NeNe needs Star but hates Star. Donald Trump stated the winning PM would get $20K but Farouk displayed some public spirit by providing an additional $20K.

So Farouk makes the rounds of each team and ASAP develops a theme of Shake Your Beauty and subtheme of “Be Safe, Be Real, Buy USA” that highlights their stylists. Star hired 6 dancers, took responsibility for lights and sound for their presentation and was on the PC writing scripts. She is no dummy and knows that it what you actually do that matters, not the drivel coming out of your mouth. She knows that only she is capable of doing what she is doing for her team.

Somewhere in here LaToya Jackson visited Donald Trump to plead for reconsideration. He told her he had never in 11 seasons done it, but he would consider it carefully and get back to her in 24 hours. He said she had been disadvantaged by laryngitis when she had needed to forcefully rebut the claims that others were making against her.

Backbone has worked on a theme of American regions. John Rich has a great idea, to ask Niki Taylor (former ASAP team member) to come and be a model for Backbone’s presentation. Niki readily agreed and also recruited 3 friends who were top New York City models. Ivanka came to visit and commented on how collected and calm Lil Jon was, unlike most PMs in action.

ASAP arrived 30 minutes late for its practice session, which made their stylists very nervous. They did not use Hope well, particularly with a huge witches nest of hair (who had the bad taste to allow that to happen?). Hope is Playmate of the Year and very beautiful, but you almost could not tell. She also did not move well on stage.

Lil Jon knew that he had to do about 20 minutes of an emcee role to introduce the Backbone presentation. He was very laid-back about it, as he has a lot of experience doing just that.

The final presentations were given. I was not impressed by the ASAP presentation, which featured the 2 stylists and Marlee Matlin, with some ineffective narration from NeNe and some traipsing around the stage by Hope. The Backbone narration by Lil Jon was very effective, the stylists held their own against the relatively effective ones supporting ASAP, Niki was great and a model and her model friends all did a good job. Niki was “representing the South”, another model was “from Rodeo Drive” and a third one from “a New Orleans Mardi Gras.” I personally thought it was no contest; despite what everyone referred to as the natural advantage for a women’s team, Backbone gave a much better presentation than ASAP.

Donald Trump let the NeNe versus Star venom boil over in the Boardroom for a long and continuing time frame. He asked leading questions to Marlee and Hope to find out where they stood, but he also accused Hope of staying under the radar and having no fight. If that means that she did not want to make a public ass of herself like NeNe, then you could say her fight is very limited. Hope claims that her actions have been following her project managers.

Trump also swung over to Backbone and attempted without success to get Lil Jon to name its weakest link. Lil Jon escaped this nonsense by stating that his team had won, so who cared. Trump got Ivanka to summarize the feedback for Backbone from Farouk:loved Lil Jon’s energy as emcee, brand messaging and the American theme; the negative was not emphasizing the safety of the products and that they didn’t use ammonia. Eric summarized the feedback from Farouk for ASAP: a good job emphasizing the safety of the product, stylists did a great job representing the brand and he thought Marlee did a great job as a model; on the negative side, Nene was considered weak as emcee highlighting the brand, there was no real theme or direction, Hope appeared awkward and it seemed like the stylists were running the show as opposed to the team

The men won big and Trump has a surprise for them. He has decided to bring back LaToya Jackson and stated that he would never bring anyone back again.

Star was asked who she would rather have on ASAP team in the future, NeNe or Hope. The answer is Hope. NeNe is then asked who to bring back to the Boardroom. She sends Marlee back to the suite and takes NeNe and Hope in with her. Hope was fired. I feel that she failed to make the case for why NeNe with a 0-2 record as a Project Manager should have been fired instead. Why is Trump putting so much emphasis on what Star and Marlee want? Why isn’t he making his own decisions? The only possible answer is that the clawing of NeNe against Star improves the ratings for Celebrity Apprentice 4. I do not agree with Trump’s decisions, as NeNe should have disappeared a long time ago.

I like the idea of Latoya winning. Don't think it will happen but who knows. (Trump knows..) Every season there is someone who is fired because they don't stand up for themselves but who have good instincts. I'm really glad they brought her back and I'm sure it was a setup from the gitgo.

I hear what you want to believe about LaToya and we know that Trump does support his favorites. However, LaToya winning is not possible for these reasons:

1. She has to beat Marlee Matlin, John Rich and probably Star Jones to get there.2. She does not appear to have the funding support group behind her that those 3 do. The final challenge is always a huge fundraiser, although if Trump likes you the outcome can be skewed to de-emphasize the fund-raising through the criteria.

OMGRAVY!! why didnt nene stay!! she made a huge mistake.. now how is she gonna face the girls on real housewives of atlanta!!

Star knew meatloaf was gonna trap her at her own game.. she buckled 2x's under extremely strong personalities..

Trump shoulda never moved nene to backbone.. he shoulda MADE nene and sttar work on the same team..

This is the second time he did something that he normally doesnt do and it back fired on him..

even though latoya didnt win.. I do believe she was happier with the results and can surely hold her head up.. but what's the deal with her freinds/contributors.. they sorta left her high n dry. maybe it was the editting but she didnt seem like she was "pushing" the fund raising hard at all.

I agree that it will be John Rich and Marlee Matlin in the finale. I predicted this several weeks ago.

I am overjoyed to no longer be subject to the NeNe Leakes School of Overacting and Overtalking. She was not going to make it through the next task anyway because she had exhausted her publicity value and Trump no longer needed her war against Star for the ratings. Since she was about to be cast aside, she is smart enough to know that it would be better to go out on her own terms, i.e. just disappear.